


Something Small

by alessandralee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Birthday Presents, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 22:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1705097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alessandralee/pseuds/alessandralee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the first birthday in a long time that Grant Ward hasn't spent alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Small

Ever since joining SHIELD, Grant Ward as always celebrated his birthday with the same two things: kicking someone’s ass, and putting a serious dent in a bottle of vodka (the quality of said vodka tends to fluctuate, depending on where the hell he’s working at the time).

 

In his years at he Academy it usually involved a sparring sessions with one of his classmates, followed by a long night of weapon building drills and hypothetical mission assignments, the bottle on his bedside table growing emptier as the night progressed.

 

Once he passes his field qualifications, the ass kicking becomes a little more violent, a little less safe (and in the case of his 25th birthday, it’s not an ass kicking but a beheading). And then spends his night in the nearest bar, drinking until they announce last call, or until his extraction arrives.

 

His 32nd birthday bucks the trend. Sadly, the only fighting he gets to do is with a training dummy (he’d planned the ask May to spar, but she spends most of the day alternating between sleeping off a mission that kept her awake for 48 hours, and guiding the plane through some rough turbulence). And to top it all off, the only bottle of vodka stashed in the Bus’s bar has maybe two shots left in it.

 

So he plans to spend the rest of the day cleaning his guns and taking inventory of his ammunition, in case he needs anything that will take Fitz and Simmons time to prepare. Then he’s going after the bottle of vodka he knows Skye keeps stashed in her bunk (it’s not the traditional vodka, but he doesn’t traditionally spend his birthdays with a team, so he’s willing to bend the rules).

 

When he returns to his bunk from an indulgently long shower (his gift to himself, despite the banging and muffled curses he can hear Fitz mutter through the door), he finds a card lying on his desk (no one should have been able to guess the code to his door), a napkin covered plate and a tall glass of water accompanying it.

 

The card has two cartoon horses on it, standing under a Happy Birthday Banner. He flips the card open to see Jemma’s precise script.

 

_There are no secrets when you live in such close proximity. You should have told us it was your birthday. There would have been time for better presents._

_This was the best I could come up with on such short notice. It’s not prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella (Fitz is oddly possessive of that particular formula), but I think you’ll like this just as much_

_Best wishes for the coming year. And best of luck figuring out whatever it is the Fitz made you for his present._

_J.S._

_P.S. The crisps are truffle oil_

 

It’s not that he intentionally kept it a secret. He’s just used to birthday without any fanfare. And he isn’t really one for presents or parties. He forced himself into a red and green sweater of Christmas, and struggled to find Fitz and gift for Secret Santa. That should be enough festivity for another year (although he has to admit, the Speak No Evil monkey statuettes did go over very well).

 

He’s a bit worried about whatever it is that Fitz is giving him (hopefully it doesn’t explode), but the mystery of whatever’s hiding under that napkin is far more interesting.

 

He lifts the napkin to find the expected sandwich and chips, made especially for him by someone he considers to be half sunshine, half steel. This is clearly the sunshine half. It’s a small gift, but those are the ones that suit him best. He intends to savor it.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Birthday," give to my anonymously in December. Yes, I know that was a long time ago.


End file.
